The fees one has to pay to renew a Dutch residence permit have changed since May 1st 2002. Until now one had to pay a fee when getting the first residence-permit, afterwards everything was free. Since the beginning of last month this has changed. Citizens from the EU or EER countries must pay 26 euros for their residence permits. Non-EU or EER citizens older than 12 years must pay 258 euros to renew a temporary residence permit, 539 euros for the permanent residence permit, 258 euros for modifications of a residence permit and 169 euros for the extension of a permit's validity (children under 12 pay the half of this amounts, except for the validity extension). Everyone whose permit expires after the date of 1 August must pay these fees. The introduction of the fee is an attempt by the Dutch government to minimize permit processing costs. Affected are all those who possess a residence permit of type I or II, EU/EER or the older A, C, D and E types.
Many UT PhD students live here together with a partner and in some cases a child, but have only one salary. They will have problems paying these fees, which put a big hole in the monthly budget of a small family. The question one asks is whether the UT could find a way to help PhD students cover these fees?
